West-Coasters [and many anglers around the globe] know that fishing for Guadalupe Island's big yellowfin tuna, who frolic among monstrous Great White Sharks, is among the angling world's most physically and mentally stressful activities.Captain Mike Lackey of the Vagabond is one of San Diego's top long-range skippers, and had this to say after another journey to that legendary fishing spot:

Hi Steve,Just wanted to let you know how well the Fathom 40's loaded with 80 lbpro spec and a short (50 yds) topshot of 80 lb big game on these 120 -175 lb Yft are working incredible!We are having guys come to us asking to borrow our gear after watchingthe other passengers using them.Must admit I thought I was asking to much of the reel, but its beensolid.Love my International 20VISX, I do believe the 12's and 16's are the right reel for thisafter seeing them in action.Thank you,Mike Lackey

AND THIS

Trip 34-17 5.5-Day JRI Lupe (11/6/17-11/12/17)JRI put on another epic trip! Very good Guadalupe tuna fishing for fish in the 120 to 147-lb range. Everybody got in on the action. Cannot say enough about the quality of these fish, they put all the gear to the test. It was incredible how well our Penn Fathom 40 2-speeds are performing. We have them loaded with 80-pound Berkley pro-spec and topped with Big Game 80-lb mono, this combo is working excellent on these fish. We had a ...few nice Yellowtail mixed in to spice it up. JRI & Blue Pacific Tackle brought the swag & margaritas in the afternoon to soothe sore muscles or just a break. Thank you, as always, a great time when John J, JRI & Blue Pacific Tackle are onboard. Thanks also to One Cool Tuna for documenting the trip, see his pics at: https://onecooltuna.smugmug.com/…/JRI-Vagabond-55…/i-s6dsrC5

These are good reels, and becoming increasingly popular for halibut in SE Alaska. However, there is one caution when servicing them: The side plate screws are very short and do not have much aluminum to grab. Far too often I see these reels with stripped threads in the frame, either from corrosion of overly aggressive screw tightening. Be careful when you work on them!!